Kansas City CRE Construction Booms

GRS Group is on a growth path, and recently added a new executive to its GRS | Title team, in the Kansas City, Mo., area. Tammy Stribling was recently named a director with the firm. Since she is based in Kansas City, where GRS has opened its first office, we thought it would be a good opportunity to catch up with the commercial real estate growth in that dynamic commercial real estate market.

Kansas City, Mo., and its surrounding suburbs and towns in both Missouri and Kansas, has a metropolitan area population of about 2.1 million people. It’s also home to several large corporations, such as Sprint Corp., Hallmark Cards, H&R Block and others. Along with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, the MLB’s Kansas City Royals and a revitalized downtown with an ever-growing arts scene, the area has a lot going for it.

However, it doesn’t normally come up very high on the national commercial real estate radar screen.

Just south of downtown, Kemper Arena, which was a long-time sports and entertainment venue in the city, underwent a $39-million renovation and is now called Hy-Vee Arena. The new facility will be a multi-event sports and entertainment space, featuring retail stores and restaurants, when it opens in October.

A Newmark Grubb Zimmer report on the Kansas City office market says that rental rates have risen 19 consecutive quarters as of the close of this year’s first half. Year over year, vacancy rates dropped from 10.2 percent to 9.4 percent during the second quarter. Asking rents hit an average of $20.03, up from $19.24 2017’s Q2, with the highest rents being enjoyed in Johnson County.

About GRS Group:
GRS Group is a leading provider of commercial real estate (“CRE”) services worldwide. With offices across the United States, Europe, and affiliates around the globe, GRS Group provides local market knowledge with a global perspective for institutional real estate investors, occupiers and lenders worldwide. The GRS Group team has evaluated and advised on over $1 trillion in CRE transactions.